


Marauders Stay Together.

by snufflesmajor



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Confusion, First War with Voldemort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 09:06:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14375559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snufflesmajor/pseuds/snufflesmajor
Summary: One of the Marauders is a spy and no one knows who it is. Sirius has a theory, but he also has a plan.





	Marauders Stay Together.

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally posted to my old account. As I have a new AO3, I'm reuploading all my HP fics (of which there are few).

    When it became clear one of them was a traitor, something inside Sirius broke. Never in his twenty-odd years of living had he felt such a deep betrayal (not even when Regulus turned his back when Sirius tried to say goodbye  _that_  summer, or when his mother told his cousins he was hiding (and definitely not crying) in the cupboard when he was four, or when James dobbed him in to McGonagall so he could go on his third date with Lily to Hogsmeade), and he hadn’t been totally prepared for it.

   Somewhere in his mind, he found the notion ridiculous. He’d scoffed openly and leaned back in his chair (definitely not as a front, and not because he was feeling small and childlike and afraid (no matter  _what_ Remus thought (Remus didn’t need to say it—his expression was more than enough to convey his  _very wrong_ opinions))), arms crossed loosely over his chest as his head rolled back. There were no answers on the ceiling, but he stared intently at it regardless. Better than looking around the table at his friends and seeing their terrified faces.

   (Marauders don’t get scared. All of this is wrong.)

   It wasn’t hard to narrow down the list of suspects. James and Lily weren’t bloody well selling themselves out (though that  _would_ be a twist, wouldn’t it? (Shut up, it isn’t funny— _this_  isn’t funny; it’s all just a terrible dream)), and Sirius hardly had the time to go about double crossing people. Even if he’d been  _capable_  of betraying his friends, no Death Eater would have given him the chance to do it. No matter what the idiot Voldemort said, there wasn’t redemption (from what? Your morals? Conscience? The good and right things to do? What sort of idiot thinks it's  _redemption_ to hate for no reason at all?!) for everyone who threw their friends under the bus out of cowardice. Not even a Black could switch sides that easily (or, really, at all. Not now, and not after so much has happened. And not after the only one who  _should have_ switched has gone missing (maybe he tried to switch after all. There's no evidence to say he didn't (except for the overwhelming evidence suggesting Regulus Black would never switch sides, and would never fight alongside his brother, no matter how badly Sirius wished he would))).

   (Marauders don’t grieve for Death Eaters, nor do they worry about their well-being and whether they might be dead.)

   Unfortunately, with the list narrowed down, that only left two suspects, and despite the quiet of the room, Sirius could tell they were all thinking the same thing he was.

   Peter Pettigrew was arguably the weakest out of all of them, both in physical and mental strength, and as well as with magic. It wasn’t because he was stupid (he could be quite quick at times, and, when the mood struck him,  _witty_ ), but more because he was simply afraid. It was almost a joke he’d been sorted into Gryffindor, but Sirius supposed it made sense. Bravery wasn’t about not being scared (not that Sirius ever felt scared (nauseous, faint, weak, lightheaded, powerless—)); it was about doing the things that scare you anyway, because it's the right thing to do. Peter mightn’t have allowed himself to be brilliant (out of fear of himself? In case things went wrong? In case his best wasn’t good enough?), but that didn’t mean he wasn’t above average at times (he did jump on a dungbomb to save James when they were seventh years).

   Still, he  _was_ afraid of an awful lot and tended to cling to the back of James’ robes whenever he had the chance. There was just no  _way_ he’d be able to wear the big-boy pants necessary to become a traitor. And he loved James! He’d even been a bit jealous of Lily for taking so much of James’ attention! Even if he wasn't awe-struck by him, he had to know Sirius and Remus would kill him if he ever even  _thought_ of betraying them.

   There was just no way Peter  _could_ do it.

   But if it wasn’t Pete, then it must be—

   The feet of Sirius’ chair struck the ground with such force that the subsequent vibrations moving through his own legs were almost painful. It didn’t do much to detract from his line of thinking, but did manage to jar the other’s out of theirs.

   From across the table, Remus was looking at him. There was concern etched into the deep line between his eyebrows, and fear curling around the bags beneath his eyes. Of course he knew what Sirius was thinking—he’d probably thought it himself. Knowing Remus, he was probably retracing his steps and trying to figure out if he  _had_ betrayed them without realising.

   He couldn’t have.

   He  _wouldn’t have._

Moony wasn’t capable. Even on a full moon, he wouldn’t have been capable. There was nothing on Earth he loved and cherished more than his friendships, and if those feelings were able to make his transformations a little easier, then they couldn't  _possibly_ be fake.

    _He_   _couldn’t..._

...but if he had, then—

 

   Two days later, Sirius sat alone on the comfortable, floral-patterned sofa in the Potter’s living room and fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. He’d convinced James to deviate from their plan and appoint Peter as Secret Keeper instead, rather than appointing Sirius himself. It had taken five hours of hushed whispers and violent screaming, four broken vases (why did the Evans' insist on giving them so many vases? Was it a muggle thing? Did they use them in arguments to punctuate their thoughts?), three cups of tea, two interventions by Lily, and one incredibly tearful confession of Sirius' for James to agree; but he had. It made sense, since no one would expect the strong James Potter to put cowardly Peter in charge of his life, or the lives of his wife and small child. Not when the wickedly intelligent Remus, or the brave and passionate Sirius, were available. Peter was the last one anyone with half a brain would suspect.

   It was brilliant.  _They_ were brilliant.

   Sirius could protect them all by boasting about his pretend position, and no one could come after James, Lily, and Harry. No one would think to use an Unforgivable on Peter to get the truth out of him, and he'd be protected regardless.

   More importantly—and selfishly, as he’d confessed to James—Sirius would never have to  _know._

    His suspicions would only be suspicions, and they’d go away with time. None of them would have to say it out loud and make it real. It could be ignored, forgotten, and they could all move on.

   (Marauders stayed together, no matter what the personal cost to themselves.)

   Moony could stay Moony—the clever, sarcastic, responsible one who always found a way to steer them out of a detention (unless he was feeling particularly annoyed at one of them (or so he said, but they all knew he couldn’t work miracles every time (not that James, Peter, and Sirius would ever ruin the illusion for him; as far as they said to Remus, Prefects had special powers (even if they were truly shit Prefects)))), and who smiled to reassure them even if he was in great pain.

   He could be their Remus, who was one of them and never anything too different. Never anything to fear, or be wary of, or stay away from.

   He could be Sirius' Remus, who leaned in close to puff the hair away from Sirius' face with breath that smelt like tea and biscuits, who knew just how to crack his back, and who was  _always there no matter what._

   By appointing Peter, Sirius would never have to articulate the thought each one of them had had.

   Remus would never be a traitor, because they simply wouldn’t give him the ability to betray them.

   (Right?)

   Everything would be fine.

   (Right.)

   There was no way it could go wrong.


End file.
